Friends

“So where are we exactly, I mean this isn’t a normal safe house,” I asked Liam the next morning as I was making breakfast like I always do in the morning. “I figured that Allie would have told you last night, you are at my parent’s house,” He confessed after a deep breath. I raised my eyebrows “No we’re not, you wouldn’t take me to the house that you were raised in,” I said incredulously. “Well I hate to prove you wrong yet again but yes it is,” He admitted pointing to a picture sitting on the mantle. I hand him the spatula that I had in my hand as I walk over to the picture. There standing in front of this fireplace were two proud parents with their young college graduate holding his diploma standing in between them. “Yea

I took that picture I tried to get my brother to smile but all he did was a smirk,” Allie laughed as she came out of her bedroom. “I think he was a little hungover from partying the night before,”

“Hey no I wasn’t I just felt a little tired standing there after mom had to have a hundred pictures before and during the graduation, how many pictures of me did she need,”

“Well, I would have loved it,” Allie sniffled.

“Awe damn sis I’m sorry, I know you would have, I’m such an ass,” Liam said hugging his little sister.

“It’s okay big brother,” Allie groans. “Now please let me go I can’t breathe,”

“Sorry,” Liam laughs as if he meant to hug his little sister a little tight. Allie gives him an all-knowing look with a big smile on her face. I couldn’t help but get caught up in all the laughter that was going on around me.

Allie and Melanie, and of course Liam were the only ones allowed to leave the house since they actually lived there. Well, Liam didn’t live there but the house did belong to him and Allie.

As my dear friends went to their classes I stayed at the house with Liam who pretty much stayed in what used to be his dad's office working and keeping an eye on the surveillance monitors that he had put up when his little sister ended up being alone in the house after their parents died in a car crash a year ago. I did my classwork for the day then ended up checking out the house that I will be stuck at for a while. After a while, I start feeling claustrophobic as

if I’m in that house not able to leave all over again. I run out the back door and sit on the deck until I’m able to breathe again. Liam must have seen what had happened because he came outside carrying a glass of water. “Here,” He said, handing me the glass. “Are you alright, you know you shouldn’t be out here it isn’t safe,”

“Seriously,” I glared at him. “I just had a freakout to where I couldn’t catch my breath and you’re going to stand there telling me it isn’t safe out here when there is a privacy fence all around me,”

“I’m just doing my job plus I don’t want to see you hurt, it would break my sister’s heart she has already lost too many people she loved already,”

“Please just let me have this. I need to be outside. Let this be my sanctuary while I’m here and can’t go anywhere,”

“Fine, but if you hear a drone cover your face and run inside,

“Yes sir boss,” I smile, giving him a military salute.

He turned around with a big smile on his face shaking his head as he walked back into the house. I went inside the house, grabbed me a washcloth then headed back outside and sprawled out in a lounge chair with the washcloth over my eyes protecting them from the Arizona sun. I must have fallen asleep because I ended up being woken up by Liam handing me a plate with a sandwich and chips on it. “I didn’t know what kind of lunchmeat you liked so I just made you a turkey sandwich is that okay,”

“It’s perfect thank you, so how long have I been out

here,”

“About two hours, you're looking a little crisp in places,” He laughs. I end up laughing with him.”Yea I think it's time for me to head inside,” Liam opened the door for me. I sit my plate down on the kitchen table. He grabs his plate off of the counter and sits across the table from me. He looks up at me then back down at his plate as if he wanted to ask me something but didn’t know how to. “Ok what’s wrong do I have lettuce in my teeth or something,” I asked him, trying to make a joke since there is no lettuce on my sandwich since after last night he learned that I hated lettuce. I prefer leafy spinach in place of it. “I’m just curious how did you not know that Noah and Caleb were brothers and that they were part of a drug cartel,” He finally asked. “I don’t know, I mean Noah controlled all the money he made sure the bills were paid. He always told me that I didn’t need to worry about all of that and that all I needed to worry about was keeping myself pretty. I know he always worked long hours but I didn’t think anything of it because I thought he worked loading trucks from the warehouse,” I took a drink of my iced tea and continued. “Then with Caleb, I had just met him not too long before he kidnapped me. Noah had introduced him as his coworker.”

“What did he tell you about his parents,”

“Just that his dad left when he was young and was raised by his mom until she died of cancer. But I take it they are both alive and well,”

“So that’s how he kept you from meeting any of his

family,” He said standing up from the table. “I gotta get back to work, don’t worry about the dishes we will wash them with the dinner dishes,”

“Okay,” I say with a nod.

I sit back in my chair thinking that was the weirdest interrogation I’ve ever done as I pop another bbq chip into my mouth. I finish up my lunch then plop down on the couch and do some channel surfing trying to find something interesting to watch but of course, at one o’clock in the afternoon, there isn’t anything good. So I got up and decided to go ahead and wash our lunch dishes. After that, I go try to take a nap, but nope, I’m bored, not tired. “I wish I could call Detective Langston or even Detective Quinn to drive them and update on what’s been happening, but since I’m on lockdown I can’t call anyone. I can’t even text Melanie or Allie while they are at school. The FBI has literally shut my phone off until I’m back in my own place.

All week long, day after day my routine became the same. The highlight of my day was when my friends came home and told me about their not being stuck in a house carefree day. Yeah, I might be a little bit jealous. By the middle of the second week, Liam comes and sits at the table as he has always done so I didn’t think anything of it. I just continued working on the next paper for my government class. “Can you please stop typing for just a moment,” He asked, clearly upset about something? ”Um, yeah, sure, what’s up,” I said as I shut my computer. Allie and Melanie see the intensity in his face and come over

sitting on either side of me. “My bosses want to use you as bait to get Noah or some of the cartels, big guns to come out of hiding,

“Wait, what no you guys are supposed to be protecting me not using me as bait. Isn’t that the whole point of witness protection,” I exclaimed hotly.

“You can’t do that to her, they will kill her Liam,” Allie insisted in my defense. “Come on Liam isn’t there anything you can do,” Melanie pleaded along with her. “I’m sorry, but there isn’t anything I can do,” He said sadly looking at the three of us lightly sobbing as we hug each other. Liam continues his speech. “You will go back to your house and go about living your life as you were doing, going to classes, going to work, etc. Except for this time they decide to come after you, you will not be leaving, you also have to wear these earrings at all times they have a tracker in them, understand,” I take a deep breath and nod my head. “Doesn’t sound like I have much of a choice, so let’s do it, just one problem though my ears aren’t pierced, so your tracker is useless,”

“Then we will have to fix that, won’t we,” Allie squeals, and I get scared. “Ok, I need some square ice, a sterilized needle, and some alcohol of both kinds,” She ordered. Liam runs to get the needle and starts sterilizing it while Melanie gets the alcohol. “Here you go,” She laughs. “Rubbing alcohol for your ears while the tequila will help you to relax so have a shot,” Liam comes back with the needle and hands it to Allie who tosses it into a small bowl filled

with rubbing alcohol. “Y'all forgot ice,” Allie reminds them. Melanie gets a bowl and fills it with ice to numb my ear lobes.

By the time she gets done washing her hands and pouring alcohol on them, I’m feeling a bit tipsy. “Right, let’s do this,” Allie quips as she reaches for an alcohol-soaked cotton ball and cleans my left earlobe, next she puts two pieces of ice on the front and back of the ear lobe, the last part she sticks the needle through the lobe, lastly she puts one of the earrings in my ear. The bad part was, no matter how much tequila I drank I still felt the pain of the needle going into my ear, but the really bad part is I still had one more ear to do. With that going through my dizzy brain I passed smooth out.

When I wake up the next morning I’m confused. I’m in my own bed. I got up, looked out my window, and saw my neighborhood before I was moved into Liam and Allie’s parent’s house. “Wait was the last week and a half just a dream. As I walk down the stairs, I hear Allie, Melanie, and Liam talking and laughing in my kitchen. “Hey sleepyhead, how are you feeling,”' Allie laughed. “A bit confused and wondering why the hell my ears hurt so bad,” I said groggily.

Liam chuckled. “Well, my little drunken friend Allie took it upon herself to pierce your ears after she did the first one you passed out so while you were out she did the other,” I reach up and feel my ears with earrings sticking out of them. “Okay, but how the hell did I end up here in my bed,” The girls packed up all your things while I carried your heavy,

drunken butt to the car, then I ended up having to carry you up those stairs to your bed because my dear sister wouldn’t let me put you on the couch to sleep,” I walk over to get me a cup of coffee as I almost fall over nodding my head as I said “Okay,” They could have told me aliens moved me back over here and I would have probably believed them too.